Profitable for a Purpose

In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty. -Proverbs 14:23

Are you benefiting from all of your labor?

Do you see others who are blessed based on what you have done?

You may be a blessing to others beyond yourself due to all that you put into your pursuits.   It may be that God wants to use you and your hard work to serve as a blessing to other people, too.

Don’t just talk about what you may want to do.  Get busy doing what you can do.  Make moves that get you closer to making a living by doing what you love to do.

Talk is cheap as they say.  Biblically speaking, talk is worthless.  Do what you need to do to position yourself for a profitable life for you and others.

Read Full Post »

Profitable for a Purpose

In all labor there is profit, But idle chatter leads only to poverty. -Proverbs 14:23

Are you benefiting from all of your labor?

Do you see others who are blessed based on what you have done?

You may be a blessing to others beyond yourself due to all that you put into your pursuits.   It may be that God wants to use you and your hard work to serve as a blessing to other people, too.

Don’t just talk about what you may want to do.  Get busy doing what you can do.  Make moves that get you closer to making a living by doing what you love to do.

Talk is cheap as they say.  Biblically speaking, talk is worthless.  Do what you need to do to position yourself for a profitable life for you and others.

Read Full Post »

Develop Difference Makers

 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, [even] unto the end of the world. Amen. – Matthew 28:19-20 (KJV)

The Great Commission gives us the disciple-making formula.  We have been referencing it for years.  We have used it for our mantra in evangelizing the entire world, putting much of our focus on the going and baptizing with regards to all nations and unto the end of the world. 

What about the teaching part?

. . . and teach all nations. . .
. . . Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you. . .

Our discipleship process should make a difference.  It should make a difference in the people who are discipled by us.  It should make a difference in them as they become fishers of men.  It should make a difference in them to the point where they make a difference in the world around them.  We, as the body of Christ, are to develop difference makers.

Get ideas and insights on how to develop difference makers:

• Outreach Magazine
• Urban Ministry
• Life Church
• Relevant  Magazine

We need today’s Christian to be able to sort through the muck and the mire.  We need Christians who will know what is truth and what is false, calling out the false prophets and standing for the truth.  We need Christians who are not blinded by the glitz and glamor of Hollywood, MTV and other fantasies.  We need people who will stand upright as the world goes astray, working in this ministry of reconciliation.  We need Christians to serve as Christ’s army.

Read the likes of J.C. Ryle, Francis Chan, Oswald Chambers, Watchman Nee, William Wilberforce, and William Carey.  Try to get a hold of the works of Hudson Taylor, Richard Allen, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Al Sharpton.  Look into men like William Tyndale, Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and John Bunyan.  Let the words of these men sink into your heart, mind and soul.  See how they made a difference.  See how others taught and trained them.  See how you can develop others to make a difference.

Read Full Post »

Do All for Him

And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.- Colossians 3:17 (ESV)

Some do their own thing and think that it’s okay to do so.  They do as they please and they do what pleases them, living without any concern for others.  Oddly enough, some of these people even claim to be Christians.

Such Christians have accepted the Deity but not the doctrine.  They know that they’re in need of the Savior, but they don’t want to have to deal with the lifestyle of being saved, sanctified and redeemed by the shed blood of Jesus Christ.  They don’t want to go to hell, so they simply have chosen the better of the two options.

Christianity is not an alternative lifestyle.  It is an absolute lifestyle.  There are some biblical and doctrinal absolutes that you had been start adhering to or face the possibility of losing connection with your faith. 

Do all for Him.  Whether it is in word or deed, do it all for Him.  Don’t let what you do cause you to stray.  Don’t let what you say cause you to stray either.  Do your work for the Lord who did such a mighty work for us.

Read Full Post »

Learning While Leading

“A true and safe leader is likely to be one who has no desire to lead, but is forced into a position of leadership by the inward pressure of the Holy Spirit and the press of the external situation.”

– A.W. Tozer

Run-ins can lead to your ruin.
Conflicts can combat your consecration.
Divisions can diabolically divide your direction.
Problems can plague your position.

What we have to do is learn how to lead while leading.  Christendom is no exception.  The way we select and choose our leaders can also impact and influence how we support and strengthen them in leadership.  A warm body can lead to a live target.  We should not charge someone with leading the way, and then dig in our heels with conflicts, challenges and confrontations that object to where they are leading us and bully them by stating and reiterating who put them in position and can put them in their place.

Moses learned while leading. Imagine if there had been a written job description detailing the opposition and objections that he would have faced.  He would have offered more than the limited excuses he shared before the burning bush about not going back to Egypt.

Look at David when the men who were unwanted but willing came to join him.  He could have turned them away, relating his turmoil of being a hunted man by his father-in-law and boss, the king of Israel, but he didn’t. King David had led sheep, so he learned how to lead these men and how to lead as king later. He learned more and more while leading them.

Our Christian leaders learn while serving.  Studying will help them.  Prayer will focus them.  Fasting and meditation will concentrate them.  Serving will help them to lead.

Read Full Post »

Business Over Busyness

Even a child is known by his actions, by whether his conduct is pure and right. Proverbs 20:11 (NIV)

There is a vast difference between right and wrong actions.  If it applies to children, you can sure bet it applies to us as adults.  That is especially true when it comes down to the “work of the ministry” as well.

God wants us busy at work for the soul-saving and gospel-spreading calling He has bestowed upon us.  He doesn’t just want us busy.  He desires that we handle kingdom business as wise stewards of the King of Glory.  Our approach should not be come about what best fits into our calendar or life plan.  We need to see where we are best suited to truly “serve the Lord with gladness.” We need to serve where we can be found faithful, even if it is over the little things.

God doesn’t want us to go about as Bible-toting busybodies.  Look at the words of Paul to his young pastoral protegé Timothy as he advises on how to handle such people (1 Tim. 5:13).  God wants us serving as a busy body of believers at work for His glory, not simply a bunch of busybody believers.

Let others see you at work for God.  Show your faith through your works.  Get busy doing the right things in the right way and at the right time.  Show the world and other Christians that there is a vast difference between right and wrong.

Read Full Post »

Sent and Supplied

If God puts you there, He is amply sufficient.- Oswald Chambers

If the Lord sends you, He will most certainly supply you. That’s how God is. It’s how He works. He did it with Moses as He sent him to go before Pharaoh. He did it with Abram as He sent him from Ur of the Chaldeans to a land that He would show him. He did it with Jeremiah will He assured him that he knew him from the womb and had ordained him for a particular purpose.

He will give you exactly what you need to do exactly what He sent you to do. He will supply you for what He sent you to do. He supplies you to do what He calls you to do. His supply is sufficient. He does not always supply us with a surplus. His sufficiency is enough for us.

Go with God. Watch Him work on you. He’ll start to work with you. He will begin to work through you.

And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.- 2 Corinthians 12:9 (NASB)

Providing Support, Promoting Success

Read Full Post »

Informing Others

Information has “inform” as its root word.  The point of giving information out to people is to inform them.  If you are distributing information, be sure to be informative.

In you information dissemination, be certain to use both a Medium and a Message.

• Medium: How do you get in touch with people? What do you use to reach people with your message? Is it online and off-line? How frequent do you use it? These are just a few of the questions you need to ask when considering your medium.
• Message: your message needs to inform.  Let it be clear and concise.  Make it short and succinct.  Eliminate all of the clutter of jargon and eloquence and say it straight and plain.

if you seek to inform people, put them in the loop and keep them in the loop.

Read Full Post »

Sites for Support

I am an avid “web-crawler.” I search the web for sites that can help me with my work and ministry. I have discovered some sites that truly can support you as you seek to enhance and expand your ministry for greater effectiveness in this day and age.

Here is a short list of sites for support:

• http://www.outreach.com/ Great resources from banners to do-it-yourself templates; be sure to take a look at http://blog.outreach.com/ for tips and ideas on a wide range of outreach topics and http://www.outreachmagazine.com/ for articles and information on outreach. Look into their church-planting resources, too.
• http://www.lifetreecafe.com/ If you are in ministry or seeking to get one started, here is a possible resource that will cause you to be “missional.” Check out what this conversational and casual gathering can do for your church and the un-churched. Read what it’s about. It will take some planning and strategies on your part.
• http://www.lifechurch.tv/ This church is taking multi-site ministry into a whole new era. You have to check out their online worship experience as well as their resources and messages (even those that are not live.) Open is a great resource for downloads of templates and forms that will help administration and ministry leaders. YouVersion has to be one of my favorite sites on the web. With everything from “live” worship and the audio Bible to Bible reading plans and the means for sharing via Facebook and Twitter, this site will rock your world. Church Metrics is a cool free tool that allows you to track everything from attendance to commitments and baptisms. It’s web-based and even has a mobile application for on-the-go ministry and small group leaders.
• http://www.urbanministry.org/ Tons and tons of information and resources for “street ministry” and beyond. I use the Word Press blog application for Saved2Serve, our network for ministries, faith-based organizations and parachurches. You have to check out their Church Grants and Volunteer sub-sites. This site is a real winner.
• http://www.ebase.org/ I like E-Base for nonprofits and donor tracking because it does something different from Church Metrics. This download allows you to track donors, volunteers, and other things such as outreach campaigns. It allows you to see what works and what doesn’t in a data storage format almost like CRM software for business.

These sites are useful and worth exploring. I see them as mechanisms for strengthening and supporting your work in ministry. Be sure to visit our web database for the free download of “When the Laborers are Few.” This will help those who have few “workers” for the harvest that is before them in their part of the vineyard.

Providing Support, Promoting Success

Read Full Post »

Moving Beyond Four Walls

The dynamics of ministry are not merely regulated to the church building. Ministry must move beyond the confines of the four walls of the church. By breaking down the barriers to true ministry, we are able to serve the wants and needs of others through both words and our works.

John the Baptist and Paul both led “external”ministry and missionary work that took place outside of the church. The Lord prepares us for such work. Even the internal work of the church prepares us through prayer, Bible study, and discipleship with other training. Look below to see one way God gets things done on the outside through us.

Three-Way Ministry Approach:

1. From God: our service is for His glory.
2. Through man: our service is directed from God the Father, conducted with Christ and fueled by the Holy Spirit.
3. To the world: the aim of our service is to bring others closer to God through Christ and His offer of salvation.

************************************

Operation Reach Out embarks on a new venture this fall with “Giving Thanks by Giving Back.”

Read Full Post »